Saturday, May 31, 2008

HANCOCK -- Nominations for the annual Keweenaw Heart and Hands award are due by Monday, June 16. Persons or couples who have given of themselves in the service of peace, justice or the environment in the local community are eligible.

Anyone can nominate a person or a couple for this award. The nomination form takes only a moment to fill out, and the recognition will mean a lot to a deserving individual! Nominations should include a description of how the candidate has had a significant impact on the Keweenaw community in the area of peace, justice, human needs and/or environmental stewardship. Please be specific about what form the person's contribution and involvement has taken.

The winners of this award will be honored during a 4th of July Celebration in Hancock. They will have their names engraved on the beautiful wooden sculpture pictured here and will receive $1000 to be designated to the non-profit charity of their choice. To obtain more information or a nomination form contact Terry Kinzel at 482-6827 or via e-mail at tkinzel@pasty.com.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

CHASSELL -- Keweenaw wildlife photographer Michael Shupe often shares news of his observations of birds with readers of the local birder email list-serv. This week he shares with Keweenaw Now readers some excellent photos of two species he recently observed near Chassell -- the Savannah Sparrow and the White-Bellied Nuthatch.

"The Savannah Sparrow is one of a recent wave of migrants, and this one was out in Chassell in a wetland area," Shupe writes. "The White-Bellied Nuthatch is a frequent bird feeder visitor that lives here throughout the year. This one was photographed along the banks of the Snake River, in Chassell."

Monday, May 26, 2008

HANCOCK -- Goldfinches and sparrows were among the feathered visitors who stopped for snacks at Swedetown Creek in Hancock this weekend. Russ Hanson has been maintaining a feeding station just off the parking area near the boat launch.

The Copper Country Audubon Club has offered the City of Hancock $1000 and volunteer work for maintenance if the City decides to make the area at the mouth of Swedetown Creek a park.

Editor's Note: At their meeting on May 21, the Hancock City Council did not take a re-vote on whether or not Government Lot 5 is or should be a park. Watch for an update on this issue, coming soon.

Update: Whimbrel spotted at Hermit's Cove

On the other side of the Keweenaw Peninsula, a few miles north on U.S. 41, local birder David Flaspohler, associate professor in Michigan Tech's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, spotted a Whimbrel at about 9 a.m. on Sunday, May 25. Flaspohler photographed the bird at Hermit's Cove, between Gay and Lac La Belle.

The Whimbrel is a kind of Curlew, a genus of wader or shorebird species that breed across areas of subarctic North America, Europe (as far south as Scotland) and Asia. In September 1977 the Whimbrel inspired a stamp in the Faroe Islands.

The Whimbrel is the subject of a stamp issued on Sept. 29, 1977, in the Faroe Islands, located between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, north of Scotland, between Iceland and Norway. The Faroe Islands (meaning "sheep islands") have been an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1948. This mage (from Wikipedia) is in the public domain, released by the copyright holder Postverk Føroya -- Philatelic Office.

News Briefs/Announcements

"Marble, Print, Bind: Bookmaking Workshop" with Cynthia Coté and Bonnie Loukus will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, April 13, at the Copper Country Community Arts Center in Hancock. In this three-hour workshop, participants will make a small book, starting with marbling sheets of paper for the cover, followed by carving small blocks for printing. Finally the work will culminate in an accordion fold book, with a clever cover. Register by Tuesday, March 31, for a discounted rate. Deadline to register is April 7. Fee for Marble, Print, Bind: $55 if registered and paid by March 31; $65 after. Call 906-482-2333 for more information.......Join the Center for Diversity and Inclusion for a Poetry Reading from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, in MUB Ballroom B on the Michigan Tech campus. Guest poet Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie, author of Karma's Footsteps, will share her original poems which focus on women, ancestry, violence and the healing power of art. Snacks will be provided.

New Slide Show!

Heikinpäivä 2015

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Slide Shows

Check out our slide shows! To see a larger version of the slide show click on any photo. Above the large photo click on the title of the slide show; then, at the top left, click slide show. Links to previous slide shows can be found below our Blog Archive in this column.

For our copyright policy, please click here or email us if you wish to use any of the photos or video clips by Keweenaw Now. Photos by visiting photographers are copyrighted and you must seek their permission for re-use.This policy applies to the photos in our slide shows as well. Please do not share photos by visiting photographers without their permission.

Eagle Rock May 2010

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In May 2010, concerned Native and non-Native citizens camped, prayed and planted a garden at Eagle Rock, an Ojibwa sacred site, which was blasted for the portal to the Rio-Tinto-Kennecott Eagle Mine. The mine, scheduled to be in operation by 2015, has now been sold to Lundin Mining Corporation of Toronto.

Keweenaw Now is on TWITTER. Scroll down this column to see our latest Tweets.

Save the Wild UP

Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve

Friends of the Land of Keweenaw

Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition

The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition's mission is protecting and maintaining the unique environmental qualities of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by educating the public and acting as a watchdog to industry and government.

Save the Water's Edge

A Rascal's Craft

The poetic musings of Eelu Kiviranta, a Finnish immigrant and self-proclaimed rascal. Side-by-side Finnish with English translation by Lillian Lehto. Introduction by Steve Lehto. Includes "The Copper Country Strike of 1913." Available from Amazon or the translator, 1419 Yosemite, Birmingham, MI 48009, $19.95. Click on cover to see Youtube video.

Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

Distant Drum

Original clothing and wall pieces custom designed and sewn by Andrea Puzakulich in the Keweenaw for 25 years. Distant Drum is located in Hancock's Historic E.L.Wright Bldg. Open most weekday afternoons. Call ahead.

Calumet Art Center

Calumet Art Center has new classes for January, February and March 2015. Click here for info.

New edition of book by Steve Lehto

Click on book cover to access Steve's Facebook page on the Italian Hall disaster.

Houghton County Democratic Party

Finlandia University

Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District: Annual Tree Sale

Main Street Calumet

Keweenaw BEST!

Michigan League of Conservation Voters

Michigan Rising

What Is Sustainable

Author Richard Adrian Reese recounts how his life took a new direction after 9 years of simple living in the Keweenaw -- and offers a new worldview for a sustainable future. Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will hold a discussion of this book at 7 p.m. May 21. See our review.

Keweenaw Nordic Ski Club

Click on the logo above to visit the new KNSC Web site: http://www.keweenawnordic.org and learn about cross country skiing events at Maasto Hiihto Trails in Hancock.

Welcome to Keweenaw Now!

Welcome to our new Keweenaw Now blog. This site is the sequel to the Web site, www.keweenawnow.com, which is still available as an archive, thanks to Smartisans.com. You can still access our articles published between October 2001 and August 31, 2007, by going to the archived Keweenaw Now site. This new blog site began in the summer of 2007 and officially replaced Keweenaw Now on September 1, 2007. It allows you, our readers, to comment on any post. Read our recent and future articles here and send us your comments and suggestions! Your comment will come to us on email (without showing your email address) and as long as it's not objectionable we will post it on the article page. Please note: Right now the comments do not appear on the home page; but if you click on the headline of an article, it will go to the article's own (archive) page, where comments do appear and where you can reply to them. Click on the comment link below the article to send us a comment. Sometimes the number of comments is indicated on that link on the home page. It may take some time for it to appear.

In addition, Keweenaw Now offers editing -- including editing of scholarly papers in various fields -- and some translation services. We can also help you write or edit the text on your Web site.

Would you like to advertise your business or organization on our site? We offer reasonable rates for businesses and special ad rates for non-profits -- with a link to your Web site. Our new 6-month and 12-month ads offer big savings! We can even make you a logo.

Environment Michigan

North Woods Conservancy

July 20-21, 2013, is the Full Moon Camping Extravaganza and Picnic at Seven Mile Point. See the Calendar of Events for details. See also savethisbeach.org and learn how you can help save Seven Mile Point.

Iraq death count

Weather

More stories in our Archives ...

If you missed one of our previous articles, you can find all of them archived through links in the right-hand column. Click on the week you missed, and the headlines of articles for that week will appear as links you can click on to read the story on its own page.